iPhone App Makes Everything Smell Like Barbecue

It's common knowledge that scent plays a major role in taste; coffee isn't the same without it's reviving smell and barbecue isn't the same without the smoky smell of charred meat. So what about the smell of food, without the real food?

PSFK reports that Japanese company Scentee has a new invention that releases the smell of food on cue: Hana Yakiniku, or "Nose Grilled Meat." The idea: Add a cartridge to your smartphone with the 35-millimeter jack, choose a scent through the app, and wait for the aromas of coconut, corn soup, cinnamon rolls, barbecued meat, short ribs, or more to waft to your nose.

The idea is that if you smell the food, it will make anything you eat taste more fulfilling, whether it's white rice or a bowl of lettuce. So although a person might just be eating lettuce, if they smell potatoes and butter, they might just trick their stomach (and their cravings).

We're not buying it really, and the example cases are a little questionable (nope, eating rice while the smell of real, great food wafts to you through your iPhone will not make a date night any more romantic), but we imagine plenty of people can get a kick out of some mind-tricks. One Daily Meal staffer? Always thought about milk when drinking water.